Split Party: Part One

The adventure today was broken into two pieces; as such, it'll be easier to post two blogs, one for each.

The Party:

• Gróin of Norston, Dwarven Sapper
  • Zarc, Thrassian Gladiator
• James Morthor, Warlock
  • Doggan, Tiny-Sized Dragon familiar
  • Iodberta, Fighter
  • Frauuara, Fighter
  • Leah Thewend, Airwalker
  • Encarna D'cruz, Priestess
  • Alice, human child (age 10)
• Sneakily, Spy

First, Morthor, Groin, and Sneakily, along with their companions, left to follow the treasure map left by the druids. A day onto the trail, they ran into a laconic young man sitting by the road. After some concerned discussion, Morthor opted to move past him. When they were a few hundred yards down the road, there was a sudden gust of wind - they'd been robbed! Of... everything! They turned to see the young man hastily dragging anything magical out of the pile of their stuff at his feet! Seeing them start to move towards him, he waved the wand in his hand threateningly. "On step closer, and I'll Wish you were on the moon!"

Morthor, valuing his stuff over the young man's threat, charged anyway. Lucky for him, the young man had run out of wishes; before the thief could escape, Morthor's henchwomen caught up, knocked the sword out of his hand, pushed him over, and ordered the magic rope to bind him. After a moment or two sorting out stuff and dressing, Sneakily decided to read his mind with ESP... but failed. Something appeared to be blocking it! Stripping the young man of armor, they found his cap was lead-lined; cap-free, his thoughts were no longer hidden, and he quickly spilled information about where the vast treasures he had gathered with his wishing wand was hidden - in his home. The party walked there, avoiding any further encounters. Sneakily disguised himself as the thief, walked inside, and found a burlap sack with a few items inside: a map, a sword, a ring, and a leather bag. After verifying that each item was, indeed, magical (apart from the map), Morthor decided to skip that whole "be careful of cursed stuff" and tested each object. The sword lit up brightly when struck; some kind of +1 sword of light. The ring, on the other hand (Morthor's hand, that is), was cursed - a ring of weakness! It quickly dropped his strength to 3. Finally, he dropped a crossbow bolt into the bag - the weight didn't change! Excited, he announced that it was a Bag of Holding, and proceeded to dump all his stuff inside, sans magic items - magic things just don't mix well. Releasing the thief, the group continued on their merry way.

The druid's treasure was unguarded and untrapped; with the druids dead or captured, there was no one left to renew the magic wards. After combing the area for traps and magic, the adventurers finally were convinced, and opened the chest to reveal 4,000 gp! Cheered by his good fortune, Morthor opened his bag to deposit the gold within, and... found it was empty. Uh oh. It was not, in fact, a bag of holding. It was a bag of devouring! Gone were his crossbows, his cash, and everything else he owned, apart from iron rations (in the cart), magic items (left out), and items in use (his clothes).

On the return journey, they met a travelling mercenary, but passed by with no further incident; eight hill giants that they carefully avoided; and 6 large Rocs, wheeling overhead, but thankfully not hungry. Back in Wallace, Morthor paid to have the ring uncursed and removed.

• XP from combat:
  • 1 thief (5 xp)
  • 1 fighter (0 xp; avoided)
  • 8 hill giants (0 xp; avoided)
  • 6 large Rocs (0 xp; avoided)
• Total XP from combat: 5
• Treasure:
  • 4000 gp
  • +1 sword of light
  • Bag of devouring
  • Ring of weakness (destroyed by clerics upon removal)
  • Treasure map (to north of the Hill Dwarves)
• Total XP from treasure: 4000
• Total XP: 4005
• XP per PC: 728
• XP per Henchman: 364
• Treasure per PC: 1333 gp